This 15-year old girl has become the youngest-ever Saudi Arabian author

The Kingdom makes literary history this week

A schoolgirl has become the youngest Saudi to publish an English-language novel.

Leena Althekair wrote her book Foreshadow: Trapped in Her Own Mind in 2017, when she was 14. The novel follows the adventures of high school student Meghan, whose life changes course after a mishap in a laboratory.

The idea for the book stemmed from a school writing project. “I actually wrote an essay for school and when I re-read it, I thought ‘you know what? This is a pretty good novel idea’ – and I spent the whole summer writing it,” she told Arab News.

Yes, that is Foreshadow’s cover! There’s so much more to it, so head on over to my blog to find out much more: www.lalthekair.com 💕 Oh, and check out my story – if you live in Jeddah, you have a huge advantage! — ايوة، دا هو غلاف الكتاب! زوروا موقعي للتفاصيل الزيادة: www.lalthekair.com 💕 وشوفوا الستوري حقتي – لو انتي عايشة في جدة، عندك جانب مفيد مررررة! — #Foreshadow #Novel #debutnovel #novelist #author #Jeddah #رواية #جدة #كاتبة #كتاب A post shared by Leena Althekair 🌼 (@lalthekair) on Feb 23, 2018 at 8:46am PST

She added that she didn’t seek out fame when writing: “For me, it was never about becoming well-known. It was getting the message across that age doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you need to work hard. You are never too young or too old to be chasing your dreams.”

The schoolgirl expressed her disappointment that she wasn’t taken seriously due to her age. “In the beginning, it was hard,” she says. “A lot of people didn’t say anything but they would give me strange looks. I focused on the people who supported me instead.”

Leena has made a string of appearances since the book was published, including at the Virgin Megastore in Jeddah, where she signed copies for readers.